<p>Hi I was wondering of he UVA COLA 1500 courses are required for the first years? If not, should you take it??</p>
<p>COLA courses are NOT required. In fact there are nowhere nearly enough slots for every first year. If you have time in your schedule and find a topic/professor that matches your interest, they can be a great opportunity. The acronym COLA relates roughly to “college level advising,” and they are designed to be approximately 1/2 lecture and 1/2 advising. The professor becomes your academic advisor for the first two years or until you declare a major. That’s why you want to look for a topic and/or a professor in an academic area in which you want to major.</p>
<p>The classes were implemented a number of years ago at the instigation of the UVa Parents Committee, after some parents identified academic advising in the College of Arts and Sciences as an area at UVa that could be improved.</p>
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<p>So does that make it a bad idea to take something that interests you but is taught by a prof that is completely outside of your intended major?</p>
<p>They only become your advisor for 2 years. You’re going to pick a real advisor when you declare your major. The advisor for your first two years that you will get otherwise is determined by your dorm, which is definitely much worse. This advisor will actually take the time to help you. The ones preassigned typically don’t know the answers to any of your advising questions (talking from experience here). Definitely do it if you are interested!</p>
<p>Ok, good. The prof (P. Jones) has a lot of glowing comments on Thecourseforum, but I was concerned that he was a religion prof and not anything related to the major. Everyone says he is a great, caring guy though so hopefully it will be all good.</p>
<p>Presumably, the profs who sign up to “teach” the COLA classes are interested in advising, so I would hope Jones is qualified to and is interested in steering his students through the College of Arts and Sciences, in spite of their future major. Of course, he(/) probably knows courses/course of study requirements in his area better than some of the other departments within CLAS.</p>
<p>Hazel, at least when my son was a first year three years ago, his “Area Dean” or something like that, was assigned by dorm, but his academic advisor was based on his major. Unfortunately, that fellow had absolutely no interest in “advising” and has subsequently gone on to head the department. (My son decided to pursue another major . . . .)</p>
<p>Yes, that is a good point ava. YOU need to PICK your major advisor, do NOT let one be assigned! I hand picked my advisor and she was the BEST. Just bring them some chocolate if you’re not sure they are taking students, or go talk to them about things a couple of times during the semester before you ask them to advise you. But usually just asking is enough, and coming with the major form as filled out as possible will help convince them. My advisor was definitely always there for me, especially when SIS rolled out in its first semester and it thought I wasn’t eligible to graduate because I skipped Calc 1… She went and emailed everyone for me to get it straight. I took a bunch of classes with her, at least 3. So your major advisor is what you make of them, but definitely better than the random advisor you get your first two years.</p>